Special Court for Sierra Leone
Press and Public Affairs Office

PRESS RELEASE
Freetown, Sierra Leone, 11 August 2003    

Indictees Occupy New Detention Facility in Freetown

The indictees in the custody of the Special Court were relocated on Sunday 10 August, to the Court's new high security detention facility in Freetown. The eight detainees, who the Prosecutor accuses of crimes against humanity, had previously been held at a temporary detention centre off Sierra Leone's coast at Bonthe, on Sherbro Island.

Now that the detainees are in Freetown they can more easily meet with their lawyers to prepare for their defence and receive visits from their family and friends. The temporary detention centre in Bonthe was only accessible by boat or helicopter.

The facility, consisting of a reception centre with a clinic, two cell blocks containing nine well-ventilated cells, prayer, dining and recreation rooms complemented by a large exercise yard, is patrolled by a specially trained team of local and international prison guards, supported by the Court's security force as well as troop units from the UN Peacekeeping force in Sierra Leone and the Sierra Leone police.

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